ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
How can the meaning of a symbol change over time?
CONTEXT:
The Statue of Liberty is a huge neoclassical sculpture of a draped woman, possibly inspired by the Roman goddess of liberty, Libertas, standing on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. She holds a torch above in her right hand and in her left she holds a tablet inscribed July 4, 1776, the accepted date of the American Declaration of Independence.
The large statue was designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi of France, and it was intended to be celebrate America’s 100 years of Independence in 1876 and represent the friendship between the US and France. It was erected on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in 1886. A gift to the US from France, it served as a lighthouse in the Harbor from 1886 until 1902. It is made primarily of copper, which has oxidized to green over the years. It serves as a symbol of freedom and was the first thing many immigrants of the early 20th century saw as they entered New York Harbor. Between 1900 and 1915, almost 15 million immigrants arrived in America, more that in the previous 40 years combined.
In 1883 poet Emma Lazarus wrote a verse to help raise money to build the base for the Statue. In 1903 the poem was engraved on a bronze plaque which is located inside the base. This text is her poem and was entitled “The New Colossos.”
TEXT:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land,
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows worldwide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
INQUIRY:
- In her first two lines Lazarus alluded to the Colossos of Rhodes. The Colossos of Rhodes was a giant bronze status erected in the town of Rhodes, Greece, near the harbor and stood 110 feet tall. It was considered a wonder of the ancient world. Destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BCE, it symbolized ancient engineering and artistry and celebrated Greek military victories. Why did Lazarus begin her poem by contrasting the Statue of Liberty with the Colossos of Rhodes? What is the effect of this contrast?
- How did Lazarus describe New York Harbor?
- How did Lazarus describe the Statue of Liberty? What is her name? How does this name identify the purpose of the Statue?
- How did Lazarus characterize the torch? What was it’s purpose?
- What does the Statue mean when she says, “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp”? To whom is this addressed?
- To whom is the Statue lifting “my lamp beside the golden door”? Describe them. How do you know?
- What is the golden door?
- What is the tone of this poem? How do you know? Cite from the poem.
- Research American immigration laws and how they have changed since 1903. Especially note how immigration has remained a political issue over time.
- In what ways has the meaning of the Statue of Liberty changed since 1903?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Read Closely 